Market likely to get a one-year extension

City plans to ask people what kind of farmers’ market they want at Morrow Park

The board that runs the farmers’ market on municipally owned land at Morrow Park will likely get a year-long extension to its licensing agreement — although city councillors also plan to launch a public consultation to find out what kind of farmers’ market people want.

The Peterborough and District Farmers’ Market Association, which has run the Saturday morning market at Morrow Park since 1984, is under agreement with the city to operate the market until May.

On Monday, council gave preliminary approval to extend that agreement for a year until May 2020 — and then open a new bidding process to invite any prospective operators to run the market for five years, until May 2025.

At the same meeting Monday, councillors gave preliminary approval to launch a public consultation process to find out what citizens expect from their market.

The idea would be to survey the public online and at the market to gather feedback. Market vendors and council members would also be asked their views.

Meanwhile, city staff will be compiling research on how other city markets are operated: they’d consider areas such as market governance, for example, and whether produce sold at farmers’ markets is usually grown locally or not.

Councillors directed staff Monday to have that research available to the public by spring, and then the public surveys would be done by the end of summer.

The goal would be for the city to award a contract to a market operator by January 2020.

Coun. Lesley Parnell had suggested that timeline, saying farmers

plan their crops in accordance to whether they believe they will be market vendors.

“People just need to know in advance, for planning,” she said.

Over the last few years there has been tension at the Morrow Park market between some local farmers and resellers (vendors who import food and resell, without making it clear to customers they didn’t grow the produce).

That tension increased when seven local farmers and artisans were evicted from the market last year.

The seven ousted vendors started their own market last spring.

The Peterborough Regional Farmers’ Market — which now includes about 50 vendors — operates in summer at the Citi Centre courtyard and in winter in the lower level of Peterborough Square.

Anyone selling produce there grows what they sell.

The PDFMA’s “issues” in 2018 prompted the election of a new board of directors, according to a staff report to council.

But Coun. Keith Riel said he wasn’t happy that the city staff report called the PDFMA tenants in good standing when they have not presented the city with an audited financial statement.

Parnell said that most people who run farmers’ markets are “very, very fine people” and that the market has a new board of directors.

Cindy Hope remains the president of the board, with Mark Jones as vice-president, Courtney Van Den Anker as secretarytreasurer and Trace Cosburn in charge of internal communications.